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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. charge — a price
  4. content — happy
  5. band — a ring
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. charge — electricity
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. content — the amount
  12. lie — to recline
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. band — a music group
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. charge — in control
  18. game — a match

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com